26-023 First vacation

--Bookstore.

The first place we visited was the only bookstore in town.

This was Haruka's wish.

It is a small store with a depth of less than 10 square meters.

It was a little dimly lit, and gave the impression of a used bookstore in a back alley.

However, there is a big difference from what I imagine when I hear the word "bookstore".

First of all, the sales floor area is very small.

There is a counter at the entrance of the store, and in that area there is no bookshelf at all, just a small table.

There are only piles of battered books on the table, and the books that are normally for sale are stored in the bookshelves behind the counter.

A gray-haired old man sits at the counter, and you are not allowed to go behind it.

In other words, the bookshelves are arranged in such a way that you can look at the tattered books, but you cannot touch the ordinary books.

The reason for this is, I suppose, that the books are expensive.

"Are you buying something?

"Yes. As I told you before, you need a book on magic, right?　I want to learn the basics, but I also want to learn systematic magic to raise my level.

Yeah, sure. I'm only level one.

But you're buying it now?　You're going on an expedition?　It looks heavy.

Toya told me, and I looked at the bookshelf behind the counter.

It has a good atmosphere of fantasy, with books that fit the image of massive.

These are not easy books like paperbacks or paperbacks.

If you want to weigh them, they must be in kilos.

"......, what do we do?

"...... price survey, yeah. That's what we'll do.

Really, in real life, luggage is a big problem. ......

It's always a drag.

In other words, if you can make a magic bag, you can make a lot of progress.

I'm sorry. I'm looking for a grimoire at .......

"Which one?

I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea.

"The basics, water, wind, light, fire, space-time, and some books on alchemy.

"...... Hmm. Wait a minute.

The old man put down his books and stood up. He pulled some books from the bookshelf behind him and laid them on the counter.

Here are the basics, almost identical in content, but with 15,000 rares and 20,000 rares. These are water, light, and fire. These are 30,000 rares, 36,000 rares and 25,000 rares respectively. The alchemy dictionary is out of stock.

That's so expensive!

I knew it was going to be expensive, but it's more than that.

A book costs hundreds of thousands of yen. .......

It's quite expensive. Is the difference in price the beauty of it?

No, it's not. If you just want to read, this one's 15,000 is enough.

If you compare the two basic grimoires side by side, you'll see that the cheaper one is certainly more worn out and the binding is a bit cheaper.

It's not like you're buying a work of art, but for those of us who read, the cheaper one is the one to buy.

"What about wind and space-time?

There is no "Wind and Space-Time". Wind comes in once in a while, but space-time is almost impossible.

Is that so?

Apparently space-time magic is still rare.

If there's no one to use it, grimoires won't sell, and if they don't sell, they don't come in.

It's a matter of course.

In the first place, there are no publishers or wholesalers, so it's difficult to get the books you want.

Most of the books are old books that mages and nobles have given away, and new books and new manuscripts rarely come in.

There is a profession of copyists, but it requires not only reading and writing skills, but also the financial resources to acquire the original books, connections to people who have the books, and the patience and concentration to copy them without fail.

"Grandfather, what about the books on this table?

"They're for sale. They're all 2,000 rare each, but you won't hear me complaining if a page is missing.

Wow, cheap ......?

No, no, no, 20,000 yen for a used book at a wagon sale with missing pages is not cheap.

I almost misunderstood the price of a normal book.

But I'm curious about this kind of thing.

When I picked up the book, I found that it was indeed in shambles.

It's not like it's going to fall apart when you hold it, but the cover is missing, the binding is loose and the pages are separated, there are pages that are really missing, etc. .......

That's why some books are interesting.

Nao, you're going to buy it again, aren't you?

...... Yeah.

I'd love to find a bargain, but I'm frustrated that I can't pack more right now .

I'd like to look for a bargain, but I'm frustrated that I can't pack more right now.

Thank you very much. I'll come back for more.

"Hmm, I'll wait for you with no expectations.

We thanked the old man, who seemed to be in a good mood despite his words, and left the store.

--Clothing store.

This is also Haruka's wish.

What do you want?　We have enough for now, right?

I bought these clothes with the idea of washing them, but thanks to Haruka's [purification], I don't need to wash them or even dry them.

I change my clothes during the daytime and when I go to bed, but in the extreme, those two outfits are enough for me.

You bought cheap and durable clothes anyway. Wouldn't it be nice to upgrade the comfort and design a little?　Clothing, food, and shelter. It's very important for life, right?

"Yes, it is. Clothes are important too, right?

No, do you need them?

When I'm working, I wear leather clothes as protective gear on top of my cloth clothes, so you can hardly see me.

The only time he takes it off is when he is relaxing after dinner until he goes to bed, and it is like a nightgown.

At most, only we see them.

Isn't it necessary?

Isn't it useless?

Of course, I'll tell Haruka that.

"Yeah, it might be nice.

No way.

If you interfere with a woman's choice of clothes, you'll get in trouble.

Toya and I have learned that the hard way.

If possible, I'd like to improve my skills a bit more and get some talking techniques to save time when choosing clothes.

Should we give it a try this time?

You can't improve without training.

I looked at Toya and he nodded his head, a sign that he was ready to go.

"You know, Haruka...

I spent only about two hours in the clothing store.

Of course, I didn't buy anything.

--Naofumi Kamiya was completely defeated.

--The weapon shop.

This is Toya's choice.

While Toya had bought a good amount of weapons the other day, Haruka and I had the lowest-grade weapons, and Toya thought it was time to update them.

Gantz, you're in my way.

"Hey, you. Are you ready to buy a better weapon?

I was greeted by Mr. Gantz, the old man who had been looking after me since day one.

He didn't even say hello to us at first, but after using the store a few times and asking for advice, he learned about us and became close enough to give us advice.

I bought it, didn't I?　I came to see Haruka's and Nao's today.

Mr. Gantz snickered at Toya's words.

You only have a sword too. You've only got a sword, your armor is garbage, and you need a shield, right?

Garbage? .......

I had to work very hard to buy Toya's partial armor - it was very cheap compared to the rest.

I don't have that kind of money. I don't want to buy anything halfway decent. Or, Mr. Gantz, will you give me a freebie?

Don't be ridiculous. I'm making a living at this. I make my living at this.　--Well, if you're buying a bunch of stuff, I might consider it.

Gantz-san, are you a tsundere?

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

And don't save your money when you're young. Money is no weapon or armor against a demon. On the other hand, if you have a good weapon, you can defend yourself and sell it off when the time comes.

Against humans?

It's bait. When a rookie smells money, troublemakers come to him.

Mr. Gantz sniffed again and twisted his face in frustration.

We both looked at each other.

To tell you the truth, we were also worried about carrying around a lot of money.

As ordinary high school students, if we had more than 100,000 yen in our wallets, we would be worried that we might drop it. If we had more than 100,000 yen in our wallet, we were worried that we might drop it.

But now, we are walking around with 100 times as much money in our wallets, in a place that is less safe than Japan.

How can I not feel uneasy?

If I could, I would deposit my money in a bank, but there is no system in this world where individuals can deposit their money.

How I wish I could deposit money with my guild card, like in the novel!

To be frank, you guys would be sitting ducks in any other town.　You'd be sitting ducks in any other town. You should be thankful for the safety of this town.

I guess we're sitting ducks.

Should we check his back for leeks?

What should we do?

Mr. Gantz has a point. I've always been a little scared to carry a purse.

(I think I'll keep about 100,000 Reais and spend the rest.

(No, wait!　I need the money to buy the book.

(Then we can leave 200,000 to 300,000 to buy weapons and armor, right?

We both nodded at Haruka's words.

Have you finalized the consultation?

Yes. By the way, Mr. Ganz, may I ask what part of us looks like a sitting duck?

Neat outfit, cheap weapons and armor, but one of us has an expensive weapon. What kind of a guy brings a weapon from home?

He pointed it out, and we looked at each other.

That's what it looks like.

But in reality, Haruka is not staying at a particularly expensive inn just because she's dressed up nicely with her magic, and Toya's weapon was just bought with a lot of effort, leaving us behind.

It's true that he has money now.

It's true that he has money at the moment, but there are a certain number of idiots who don't think things through and just judge by appearances. If you want to avoid trouble, you have to bluff a little.

Thank you very much. Do you have a bow, a spear, or something else?

Yeah, hold on.

After a while, Gantz-san went back to the backyard and brought out two bows and two spears.

He placed them on the counter.

"Here's the first one. The bow is made of a compound material of elder torrent and mithril, and the string is made of specially processed Magi Spider thread. The feature is that it uses the archer's magic power to make arrows. You'll never need to restock your arrows again.

Wow!　It's a magic weapon.

Consumable arrows are a burden on your luggage and your budget, so not needing them is quite convenient.

Isn't that pretty good?

"Hmm. Why don't you just use magic?

"...... You might be right. But this can be used by people who can't use magic. Plus, the activation time is very short.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea for humans or not.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea for humans, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea for elves.

What's the price?

It's not that powerful, so it's cheaper than you think. 7.8 million Rea.

Too expensive.

To be frank, it's not even worth a tenth of what we paid for it.

If you have magic power, you can use magic.

And Haruka immediately shakes her head.

"Yes, rejected. At least it's not worth it to us.

"d*mn it!　Well, you're an elf. Here you go. It's based on a branch of Trent. No special effects, but it's a good quality bow.

May I try a pull?

"Yes.

Haruka takes the bow from the counter and pulls it a few times to see how it feels.

It looks like an ordinary bow made of wood, but the texture of the wood seems to be quite high quality.

That's about all we know, and it's hard to tell how much it's actually worth.

How much is this?

"Well, it's an ordinary bow. 80,000 rare.

That's a big drop.

That was a joke. I'm not buying it.

Of course not. I'm keeping this one for now. Let me see your spear.

This is the one I recommend. The tip is made of yellow iron and the handle is made of pseudo-ironwood, a very hard wood. It's a little heavier, but it's a lot sharper and stronger.

I took the spear offered by Mr. Gantz and shook it lightly.

It is indeed a little heavy, but it is tolerable.

At first glance, the handle of the pseudo-ironwood looks like iron, but when you touch it, it feels like wood.

Pseudo-ironwood is an unusual kind of wood. It's hard to begin with, but special processing makes it even harder. Even against iron, it's so weak it won't even scratch. But it also has flexibility. It's ideal for a spear handle.

That's awesome!

In the original world, I think there was a material made from cellulose extracted from wood that was lighter and harder than iron, but it didn't retain its original form as wood.

The other one is a bit special. The other one is a little bit special. Elf, you use magic too, right?　It's a spear that functions a bit like a magic rod. If you use magic with it, the power will increase slightly.

The tip is made from a snake's tusk. It's not as hard as iron, but it's harder than normal iron. The biggest advantage is that it won't rust even if you don't take good care of it.

This one is lighter than the first one.

The ease of handling is definitely better.

Although the tip is inferior to the yellow iron, the fact that it does not rust and increases the power of magic is a significant advantage.

The tip of the snake's tusk looks a little strange, like a polished white ceramic.

It looks a little brittle, but...

I'm not sure what to make of it.　If it stings, you could get poisoned.

"Gee!

"What is poison?

What's poison?

It's a magical process. It's not painted, so you don't have to worry about taking care of it.　The yellow iron one is 140,000 rare, the other one is rare, but not many people use spears and magic, so 160,000 rare is fine.

You don't have to reapply the poison potion, it still works.

It's useful, but it's not for hunting.

I don't want to eat poisoned meat.

I'll take the iron.

By the way, Mr. Gantz, what are blue iron and yellow iron?　They're not normal iron, are they?

This spear is yellow iron.

Toya is using a sword made of blue iron.

There are also weapons made of black iron and red iron.

There are also weapons made of black iron and red iron. The appearance is that the iron has a slight bluish glow. It's not bright blue or yellow.

What, you don't know?　Something is mixed with iron to change its properties. It's made by an alchemist. The ingots are purchased and processed by blacksmiths. So which one do you want?

The pyrite, I think. I don't want it to be poisonous when hunting boars.

What? The poison is magical, it won't go away if you leave it for a while.

...... No, I'll take the yellow iron one. I like the feel of the handle.

I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not, but it's a good thing.

To be honest, the idea of increasing the effects of magic is quite appealing to me. .......

Well, I can't help it. You shouldn't use a weapon that doesn't fit in your hand. Are these two enough?

"No, I'll update Toya's shield and our armor. Do you have any good ones?

Go ahead, buy it, buy it. Buy it, buy it, buy it.

Gantz-san laughs happily.

I'm not sure if it's his personality or not, but he doesn't seem sarcastic despite what he's saying.

I'm not sure what to make of it.

I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not. These three are common ones, and these two are arm-mounted ones. If you wear them on your arms, you don't have to throw away your shield when you handle the sword with both hands. However, it will be more difficult to handle the shield.

Mr. Gantz returned to the backyard with the bow and spear we hadn't chosen, and now came back with five small shields.

The only difference between the shields is their shape and weight, and there seems to be little difference in performance.

The price of the better ones goes up by an order of magnitude, so we can't afford them.

Toya repeatedly held the shield in his hands and wore it on his arm, and finally chose a shield that could be worn on the arm.

The rest is armor. Chainmail for you guys?　If you're going to stand in front, partial armor over it is not a bad idea. Soft leather, hard leather, metal, the choice is yours.

We followed Gantz's recommendation and chose good quality chainmail within our budget.

On top of that, Toya added metal breastplates and baskets, as well as armor to protect her joints, and I added soft leather partial armor.

Haruka is basically a rearguard, and is a little less strong, so he only wears chainmail.

Instead, he chooses something a little higher quality than what we have.

It's 560,000 rare, but I'll give you 550,000. I'll also give you a suit of armor.

A suit of armor is a slightly thicker, sturdier cloth garment worn under chainmail.

Ordinary clothes are expensive, but this one is even more expensive because it's tougher.

"That's very generous of you, Mr. Gantz!

"d*mn!　I've picked up a lot of money, so I'll at least give you that!　You can't buy life!　You can't buy a life, you know.

I'm not sure what to make of this.

I probably should have updated the armor earlier.

I've been so busy that the only time I felt threatened was when I was working on Weipu Bear, so I forgot about it.

At that time, I pushed myself a bit to update Toya's weapon, so it's not like I was unprepared.

You guys are of normal build, so come and get it in the morning. I'll have it adjusted by then. Also, ...... if you don't want to stand out, wear something over your chainmail. Or a robe over it. It'll reflect the light, so you'll stand out.

"Thank you, sir.

It's too good to die a paying customer!　Don't leave when you're done. I've got to adjust your armor, I don't have time for this!

With a steady stream of hateful comments from Mr. Gantz, we left the weapons store.